"You will see light in the darknessYou will make some sense of thisAnd when you've made your secret journeyYou will find the love you miss"

The Police - Secret Journey

Earlier this week whilst the country was being battered by the remains of Hurricane Whateveritwascalled, I took myself off up into the hills in the hope that all the autumn colours hadn't been decimated by the wind and there were still some of the lovely browns and oranges that appear for a brief period at this time every year. In some places the fall colours can last for weeks but from past experience I have found that in the UK generally, no sooner have the leaves turned a lovely golden colour, a storm comes along and scatters them far and wide.

So it was with sheer delight that I climbed down to the riverside in the Goyt valley in the Peak District to find it not only completely sheltered from the gales but also still holding it's colours well. Granted it was almost the middle of the day but at this time of year the sun is so low in the sky all day that the shadows it casts are totally lacking in the harsh contrasts of summer, permitting pretty decent photographic opportunities all day long.

In my ears that day was one of my favourite albums of all time, Ghost In The Machine by The Police from 1981.